Stanford stuck at #4 in BCS rankings

There’s nothing like a lousy computer rating to suck the joy out of a weekend win.

But that’s exactly the kind of disappointment the Stanford Cardinal face. Just after a delicious 38-18 victory over Oregon State on Saturday — a game drowned out by the hype of the Tigers – ‘Tide matchup — the Cardinal find themselves mired at fourth place in the new BCS rankings.

Although the BCS thinks that their first rankings of the season are “an exciting time in college football.”

So, how do you give a #4 ranking to a team with a 9-0 record? A team with a Heisman-clad quarterback that is being considered for the NFL even as we speak? And how do you explain Stanford’s ranking below Oklahoma State, who is is ranked 46th in rushing yards, well behind Stanford at 17th?

(But, this comes from a sports fan that doesn’t care much for a couple of computers scrambling to sort a grand plethora of college teams into a compelling ranking system.)

With limited support coming from the BCS, the Cards are going to have to do some serious work against the Oregon Ducks this weekend to propel them past the newly-slumped #3 Alabama Crimson Tide. The Ducks will enter Stanford Stadium with a #7 ranking and a 8-1 record.

Stanford will also have to bank on newly ranked #2 Oklahoma State losing, but that’s a whole other set of hoops to jump through as the college football season pushes on.

Additional sources:

• BCS Football
• ESPN